How is it possible that Floyd Patterson managed to go 12 rounds with Muhammad Ali while Sonny Liston knocked Floyd Patterson out in the first rounds?

 Asked on Quora. My Answer.

You see such a phenomenon in all sports not just boxing. Certain figures match up better against one another. Even on a team level squads don’t really follow a linear pattern when facing each other on a one-to-one basis. Take soccer - Brazil in the 90s struggled against minnows Norway but had no problem dealing with powerhouses such as England, Italy and the Netherlands.

In tennis South African Wayne Ferreira had a great record against Pete Sampras but was never good enough himself to win a Grand Slam. Sampras won 14 big ones. Henri Leconte, the Fereirra of the 80s, was also capable of getting under the skin of eight time Grand slam winner Ivan Lendl. There are numerous other examples.

As another answer mentioned style is key. In boxing though you also have the added variable of the so-called ‘lucky’ punch that can turn a result on its head and give the bookies somewhat of a headache.

However with respect to the Liston v Patterson match-up the former’s sheer power and extensive reach meant that Patterson couldn’t move in close enough to hurt his opponent. Liston had him where he wanted and this dictated the final outcome for both fights. The two Foreman-Frazier fights followed a similar pattern in favour of Big George.

When Patterson fought Ali (then Cassius Clay) in 1965 the Lip gave his opponent far more latitude than Liston did. Patterson could therefore exercise his skill set more effectively despite the fact that he is believed to have had a back injury at the time of the fight.

Unlike Liston, Ali’s style was not based on the dominance of power hitting. He favoured a purer form of pugilistic finesse that involved the triple arsenal of bob, weave and punch. Ali still dictated conditions but these conditions were more favourable to Patterson.

Some have suggested that Ali was toying with his opponent for entertainment and could have ended the fight much earlier. Patterson, some would say, was a sucker for punishment and Ali took advantage of this. I think that is a bit harsh toward both Patterson and Ali. No fighter seeks to go 12 rounds with an opponent if they have the opportunity to end a fight earlier. The final outcome was likely never in doubt but Patterson had enough boxing smarts to force himself onto the inside of Ali and prolong the eventual.